Chapter 182
The entertainment broadcast station Music Days, where the lights never went out.
Someone opened the door and stepped into the editing room of the Targeting Star team, who were busy preparing the final mission, the courage test & treasure hunt, for upload.
“…What the hell? Why is this all you’ve done? Hey, hey. Are you sleeping right now?”
“Snrk—huh, P-PD-nim?”
“Yeah. It’s your PD-nim. What do you think you’re doing? You think you have time to spare?”
PD Joo Cheol Yeong snatched the pillow away from editor Kim Chang Seok, who had been curled up napping on a cot, his face twisted like an angry demon as he barked out sharply.
“Ha, seriously. No wonder not one of you answered your phones. Kim Chang Seok. With the senior editor sprawled out sleeping, do you really think your juniors will do their jobs properly? Are you joking? And where the hell did Jun Min go?”
“J-Jun Min seonbae went to get an IV… He said he might pass out from his migraine.”
“If he’s gonna go, shouldn’t he at least leave proper instructions? God, the editing room reeks. How can you not get a headache?”
After thoroughly scolding the editing team, PD Joo Cheol Yeong slammed down an energy drink and his laptop on the desk, scrunching up his face even further.
“You keep this up, I’ll drag all of you out to the filming sites and make you work there. Wanna render videos on this laptop for ten hours straight while doing everything else?”
“N-No, sir! We’ll work harder! I’m sorry!”
“Tsk, all talk. Unbelievable.”
The members of the editing team, Chang Seok and the junior editors bowed politely in front of PD Joo while silently cursing internally, tears in their eyes.
‘If you just sent the files on time, we wouldn’t need to edit this in the first place. How do you expect us to work when you say some footage will arrive later due to some issue?!’
‘Should we submit this to that investigative news program next door? I haven’t been home in 29 hours already.’
‘Energy drink, my a*s. Bring chicken or something.’
But their well-honed social instincts kept those thoughts firmly inside.
Instead…
“So, um, PD-nim… did you come here to deliver the files right now?”
Their minds were fully occupied by the thought of quickly finishing work and finally going home to rest.
“What are you talking about? I already sent the files via email. Haven’t you checked yet? Wow, you guys are really….”
“W-we’ll get right on it!”
“You’ve got five hours. Finish editing properly and schedule the upload. Got it?”
“Yes, sir!”
Though there were still seven hours left before the scheduled upload of Targeting Star WeTube Blue content, if the PD said five hours, it had to be five hours.
Bang!
“God… What a psycho, barging in just to yell. I’ve barely slept two hours total in the last two days!”
“Chang Seok hyung, shhh, shhh! This room isn’t soundproof!”
“Oh, really? You don’t even thank your seonbae who allowed you three hours of sleep but defend that PD instead?”
“Hyung, stop bothering him and let’s just work. I just checked the files, they’re all short clips. If we focus, we can finish fast. Let’s wrap it up quickly and head to the sauna.”
“…Damn it. Why are these files so short, anyway?”
Returning to sit at his computer, Chang Seok clicked through the files from the set, grumbling nonstop.
“Kim Chunyong, Son Jae Ha, Li Ming Shen, Liu Wei… Guess I should combine their footage into one segment. Anyone watching might think they only had one camera. Why are these clips so short? Did their cams shut off midway or something?”
“But trainees Kim Chunyong and Son Jae Ha got some good scenes on the main camera, hyung. Their dialogue is also subtitle-friendly. It’ll be fine once edited. I’ll handle Liu Wei and Li Ming Shen.”
“Fine. Let’s finish this quickly and go. We’ll die if this keeps up.”
Muttering, Chang Seok opened the editing program.
Actually, everyone in the editing team had their minds elsewhere, already imagining the seaweed soup meal set they’d soon have at the sauna [1]. And thus, they completely missed something crucial.
Specifically, they missed the question about why PD Joo Cheol Yeong, who should’ve been overseeing filming on location, had personally come all the way to Music Days headquarters.
* * *
At the same time…
In an empty office just one floor below, PD Joo Cheol Yeong quietly recalled a conversation he’d recently had with AG’s CEO, Do Jae Chan the day before..
“You want to create a more beloved trainee? Do you really think you can flip the rankings at this stage?”
“Seeing as you didn’t even ask who it was, you must already have an idea.”
“Well, PD Joo, considering how much effort you’ve put into Kim Chunyong’s editing, how could I not?”
“Oh, please. I’ve put effort into editing the AG trainees and Liu Wei, too. But you’ve seen it yourself, haven’t you? Who especially stood out among them?”
“Is he the only trainee who stood out? Logan, Bang Yu Chan, the other AG trainees—”
“They got directing. We gave them prompts through sketchbooks and privately instructed them on their reaction intensity. But we never had to do that with Kim Chunyong. He handles himself perfectly without intervention.”
What PD Joo Cheol Yeong wanted to convey was simple.
He wanted to support Kim Chunyong.
If possible, he’d like to give Chunyong enough push to debut through the remaining live broadcasts of Targeting Star.
And he hoped President Do Jae Chan would agree and cooperate.
“It’s not a difficult matter, President Do. Isn’t this beneficial from your standpoint as well? It’s like extracting a bad tooth and replacing it with a solid implant. You yourself told me earlier that you sent Ahn Jin Woo purely for experience.”
“I know, I know….”
However, despite his impulsiveness and easily being swayed, he was still the president of an entertainment agency.
Naturally, such a person wouldn’t readily welcome fully backing a trainee who wasn’t even officially part of his initial plans.
“…You need to specify exactly what kind of cooperation you mean. He’s still just a trainee on a preliminary contract. We need to assess the possible risks involved.”
“Oh, you won’t need to take on any risks at all, as long as things go according to plan.”
“The Chinese investors are already restless because of Liu Wei. How can you say there’s no risk involved?”
“That’s precisely the point, President. Who’s currently in charge of the Chinese investors at AG?”
“…….”
“I’m certain he’s already scrambling to resolve this issue. You might find it worthwhile to talk to him about it.”
“Heh-heh….”
At that moment, recalling the comically stiff expression that appeared on President Do’s face, PD Joo Cheol Yeong let out a scoff, leaning his head back against the chair’s headrest.
That day, President Do had simply left after saying he’d think about it further before their next meeting but PD Joo knew the two of them would eventually have that conversation.
‘Director Shin Ki Ho and President Do weren’t entirely at odds from the beginning, after all.’
It was President Do himself who initially brought in Director Shin Ki Ho from outside.
Originally, they’d begun with a shared goal of rebuilding AG into a respectable company again.
Director Shin would attract investments to grow the company’s scale, while President Do would focus on internal management and artist care.
Everything had started going wrong with the arrival of global trainees, tangled up with investors’ interests.
T/N: [1] ↩
Discussion
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Bees
Thanks for the translation.
Keiti